


Broken Bones and Flower Vases

by KohiNaka



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, College Student Eren Yeager, F/F, M/M, No major sad, Nurse Levi, Stress Baking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-01
Updated: 2017-02-04
Packaged: 2018-07-19 06:49:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7350328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KohiNaka/pseuds/KohiNaka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi Ackerman was normal. Really, truly, he was, until an annoying little shit strolled into the ER one night with a broken nose. Now he can't seem to get a moment's peace from the shitstorm that is Eren Yeager's life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Day in the Life

**Author's Note:**

> My first story in almost 3 years. Feedback much appreciated.

Levi Ackerman like to think of himself as, well, normal.

Or maybe as normal as he could possibly get.

There were a few things about himself, he reflected, that may not be so normal at all.

The first thing was his attention the cleanliness. Now, you may be thinking, 'oh, the man likes to be clean, so what?' And in his line of work, in the Emergency Room of Trost's finest Hospital, this should be applauded. 

However, it was certainly a strange sight to see a nurse cleaning his own work station with maintenance's supplies. Levi simply didn't trust them to get the area as sterile as possible, which could be offensive, he supposed. It was their job to clean and to clean well, and a nurse telling them to their faces that they were fuck all at cleaning may not have helped.

He honestly couldn't give two shits, either way.

His second oddity, he supposed, were his friends. Not the fact that he had them, mind you, but maybe that they were even less normal than he was.

Erwin, his coworker and childhood friend, had stuck around long enough that Levi couldn't be annoyed at his presence any more, unless he really tried.

The blond, who stood at 6'2 and had broad shoulders big enough to fill almost every doorway, was a military brat who had never joined, himself. Mostly due to medical reasons, but Levi never pried into business that wasn't his.

Levi had helped Erwin enroll in medical school a year after he'd started, the latter deciding that "a career in medicine is better than no career at all". They'd both been employed by the hospital for about 8 years, now, so neither could see themselves doing anything else.

His other friend, Hanji, with her giant glasses and dark brown hair, was an enigma. He meant that in every insulting way he could get away with; but at the same time, if anyone else were to insult her, Levi wouldn't hesitate to break the offender's neck.

She was a phlebotomist who worked blood drives in and around the city, and of course the donated blood came to Trost Medical Center, the largest in the current state. 

Hanji had met Levi and Erwin there almost 6 years ago, and decided that she would 'keep them'. Sometimes he still wondered what that meant; were they free test subjects for her biology degree when they died? He'd have to remember to check his will again, just in case.

Levi's current situation seemed, at the moment, normal. He was at work, on the night shift (people en masse pissed him off), when a group of young twerps walked through the door, voices raised without a care in the world. 

He was able to catch a few words through the thin glass of the reception desk, as he was around the corner running a small blood test. Something about "horse" and "broken" and maybe the word "fight"?

The rest was tuned out while he read the results, noting nothing serious, until Erwin poked his head around the corner with a tired smile.

"Hey, I'm working with one of the group that came in. Broken arm. This other kid's got a broken nose, but that's about it. Can you set it for me?"

In turn, Levi shrugged, but followed his coworker down the hall to the designated room. Once the door was open, an argument hit his ears, and he winced involuntarily. Damn kids.

"Fucking seriously Jean, you're lucky I didn't do worse. Pop me again and see what happens, fuckstick!" 

The voice had come from a young man a good foot taller than himself, with thick, shaggy brown hair and a profusely bleeding nose. He was glaring daggers at the other kid across the room, who was blond and tall and wispy, cradling his left arm. It appeared broken in more than one place.

With a sharp exhale out of his nose, Levi walked over to the sink, washed his hands, and got a new pair of gloves.

Erwin stepped between them then, a concerned look on his face, brows furrowed together.

"Excuse me, but we can't have you fighting in here. I need to ask you to settle down, or we can kick you out until you're ready to be seen."

The look on his face was one Levi recognized from his mother, when she was about to ground him for missing curfew. It did its intended purpose, and the two silently steamed in place, making the room quiet once more.

It was then that Levi walked over to the brunette boy, his face as passive as he could make it, a few antibacterial wipes in hand.

"Lean your head forward, please, so I can clean your face."

The kid did as asked, his eyes drawn to the floor with a sigh. Levi took care of the blood as best as he could without upsetting the broken cartilage, mouth unconsciously turning into a frown when he wasn't able to get it as clean as he'd like.

Levi then instructed his patient to clench his teeth, to not accidentally bite his tongue and cause more mess than there already was.

When the kid was as ready as he could be, Levi quickly reset his nose, tuning out the sound of grinding plates. To his credit, the younger man didn't make a peep. However, a quick look down showed fingernails dug into the upholstery of the exam table.

Mentally rolling his eyes at having to clean yet another piece of equipment, Levi grabbed the splint he'd kept handy and placed it securely over the other's swelling nose.

"Eren. Michael. Yeager."

It was almost comedic, the way Eren snapped his head around to the door. Levi was almost sure he also saw the other kid, who now had his arm set and wrapped, shrink, even from across the room. He dropped his hands from the splint, turning to see who had come in the room. 

Standing with narrowed eyes and hands on her hips happened to be his colleague, Dr. Carla Yeager. She was a brilliant neuroscientist, and worked closely with the ER and ICU to deal with trauma quickly and effectively. 

With Carla at 5'4, just a few inches taller than himself, he shouldn't have been intimidated by the usually bright and chipper woman. Levi couldn't help it, though; anyone who'd seen her weild a scalpel would feel like shitting their pants right now.

Well, he mused. Anyone who'd seen her work, and her children, it seemed.

"Mom, how did--"

Carla cut her son off with a frown, casting the same look at the other, who was looking anywhere, everywhere else.

"Jean. Go wait with Armin and Mikasa."

The boy, named Jean, apparently, nearly dove out of the room in a second, eager to run away.

She turned slightly to look at her coworkers, then made a motion towards the door. Levi went first, then Erwin, who respectfully closed the door behind him.

They'd only made it two steps before her voice shook the walls. Levi walked faster, not wanting to hear or be a part of any family drama. He grabbed the results from earlier, and went in to see his patient.


	2. I Think You Have Cooties

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The amount of hits is a huge self confidence boost; Thank you so much!!

The rest of that night had passed uneventfully; once Levi was sure Dr. Yeager and her son were gone, he went back to the exam room and scrubbed it from top to bottom. That called for the end of his shift.

He pulled in his driveway at 5:15 am, and after a quick snack of carrots and ranch, did his usual workout: 100 crunches, 100 pushups, 50 mountain climbers, and 45 minutes on the treadmill.

Once that had been accomplished, he cleaned his treadmill until it sparkled, then showered and went to bed.

As he drifted off, he could only wonder when his life had become a routine instead of living.

How he got to work was a bit of a blur, if he were being honest. Levi had to stop and reorient himself with reality a few times, Erwin casting a look that made his skin crawl.

If the big lug even mentioned the word 'sick', he was going to sock him. Probably in the jaw, and damned if he could actually reach.

The hours passed with relative swiftness, the universe deciding Levi could actually use a break. He saw a few patients with small ailments and allergies and things he didn't have to think so hard about, and when he finally checked the clock, he was surprised to learn it was already 4 am.

Levi sighed, flinching a bit when he turned his head and felt a soft 'crack'. Just an hour to go.

But then the doors slid open, and Levi watched from behind the safety of the reception desk as Carla's son walked in, accompanied by a slighter kid with blonde hair nearly to his shoulders.

"Armin, it's alright, I swear. Accidents happen."

Eren, if he remembered right, walked up to Levi with only a little pain on his features; Levi only then noticed the bloody paper towels wrapped around his left hand, which was currently cushioned against his chest.

The young man looked at Levi with rememberance, and spoke again in a polite tone, a friendly smile on his face.

"Oh, hey! You're the one that fixed my nose yesterday. Thanks."

Levi's eyes glanced over the bandage still securely fastened over the kid's nose, biting his tongue to not make a shitty remark. He simply slid the required forms through the small window in the glass.

"Yes, that was me. Please fill out these forms, or have your friend do it for you. Can you tell me what happened?"

Eren grinned sheepishly at him then, and his friend Armin ducked his head with a blush, nearly snatching the paperwork away to fill it out himself.

"Well, Armin had a bit to drink, and wanted to show me one of the tricks he learned in culinary school this week. Problem is, um, the knife went flying. I caught it before it caused any damage, but.."

The kid peeled the paper towels off his hand, and on the palm, there was a slice about 3 inches wide. It wasn't very wide, no, but was obviously deep enough to need stitches.

Armin gave the forms back, neatly filled in, and with a few clicks, Levi had entered the information into the computer.

"Go ahead and come through the door. Wait in the second room on the right; I'll be there shortly."

They did as asked, Eren still smiling, Armin still looking like he ran over a dog. When they disappeared around the door frame, Levi gathered up the supplies he would need; numbing solution, the thread, gauze, ect.

All in all it took him about five minutes; he strode into the room and set the tray down on the counter next to the sink. He washed his hands, replaced his gloves, and turned towards the brunette.

"You're going to need stitches for a cut that deep. Do you have a problem with needles?"

Eren laughed at that under his breath, an eyebrow raised as he answered Levi's question.

"Sure, ask the doctor's kid if he's afraid of needles. Brilliant."

Okay, that was mildly unexpected. And annoying. It turned out Eren was a sarcastic brat. Levi narrowed his eyes, and without warning, had pierced Eren's palm with the syringe; the brat flinched, sucking in a hiss through his teeth as the solution did its job of deadening his nerves.

"Sorry, forgot to mention, stick and a burn."

It was Eren's turn to look sour, but Armin just laughed beside him, the earlier drunken flush having fallen away. He spoke with a grin, obviously forgetting his guilt.

"Sure, Eren, piss off the nurse who's patching you up. Brilliant."

Eren muttered something nasty under his breath, pointedly looking away from them both; Levi felt a tug of satisfaction at hearing the word 'traitor'.

He figured it served the little shit right.

There were a few minutes of silence as he worked, Armin quietly laughing, Eren quietly pouting, and Levi even forgot the nausea in his stomach for a while.

A few motions later, and the stitches were done; he'd left them tight to keep the wound firm, so the kid could use his hand for more than wiping his own ass. Still, it was required of him to give a warning about usage.

"Do you play any instruments or sports? If you do, refrain from that until the stitches come out. I'll give you about 12-14 days."

The kid nodded, apparently satisfied, and jumped off the table; Armin stood from his chair, and Levi directed them both to the front desk. He printed out the usual take home summary, handing it to Eren and motioning them back into the lobby.

Of course, both brats grinned at him, waving goodbye like he was going to wave back, the morons. The sliding doors shut behind them softly.

It was four twenty in the morning. Then it was five.

Levi got home, worked out, showered, went to bed.

Rinse, repeat. Rinse, repeat.


	3. You Make Me Nauseous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, but please enjoy chapter 3!

It took him a few moments to realize what had happened; he’d been lying in bed with an aching stomach and a cloudy head, and found himself shortly on the floor of the bathroom. The sound of Levi emptying said stomach’s contents echoed through the tiny space.

His head was swimming too fast, his eyes and throat burning, and god, he needed water. He had to reach someone. Levi knew he was useless when he was sick as a general rule, so there was no way he’d be able to work; there went his bonus for perfect attendance.

Pulling himself to his feet rather unsteadily, Levi used a shuffle-like maneuver to get back to the bedroom. Grabbing his phone off the nightstand was a bit of a challenge, but he pulled up the last person he’d texted, typed some form of message, and couldn’t bring himself to care if the message was readable. 

The device was shortly dropped where he stood, and Levi was once again friendly with the porcelain throne. After a minute or two of hating his life, the dark haired man picked through his brain to try and think of what might have caused this ridiculous episode. 

It must have been the carrots. He knew he should’ve thrown them out a few days ago, but he was just so tired from that third shift and didn’t want to trek all the way to the store—

Another bout of heaving, and Levi’s thoughts were turned into less coherent ones, mostly revolving around ‘fuck the carrots’.

At some undisclosed time later, Levi heard the front door alarm go off to signal he had a visitor. Before he could process it any further, Hanji appeared in his bedroom, arms full of shopping bags and about to call his name. He must have made some sort of noise, as Hanji’s whole body snapped in his direction, the bags slipping from her fingers to the carpet.

She ran blessedly cold hands over his face, asking too many questions as usual, and he felt himself sigh in relief. Hanji made a displeased face, but nonetheless snatched a washcloth off the counter, wet it in the sink, and wiped the residual crud away from his mouth. He was promptly dragged to his feet, and his toothbrush was suddenly in hand. Levi went through the motions at about a third of his normal speed, but was thankful to wash away the texture lining his gums.  
He was directed in a beeline for his bed, Hanji muttering something he didn’t bother to listen to; Levi unceremoniously planted himself face first into his pillow. A gentle hand moved his covers up to his shoulders and turned out the light, as sleep called to him immediately. He’d only wished he had managed a thank you, as when he woke up, Hanji was gone.

The next day, he was back on his feet and working; even if he was still sick, Levi refused to be bedridden for more than a day. He had plans for his PTO and wasn’t going to waste it on hugging a toilet, damn it. Levi did feel better as the day progressed, the productivity doing wonders for his mind. 

He’d made sure to clean out his fridge before he went in, however, hurling the carrots into the trash with extra spite, the resounding thunk making him smile. That smile was brief, because Hanji hadn’t stopped texting him ‘fuck the carrots XD’ for two hours straight.

No sooner than he’d snapped out of his memory did a commotion break out; it seemed Levi was right on time, as Erwin rounded the corner and informed him of an ambulance on the way: a four car pileup, one in critical condition. Levi and Erwin were quickly assigned to one of the more stable patients, the woman who’d inadvertently started the crash.

They started their practical process, Erwin talking about anything and everything to keep the woman distracted as he checked her upper body for injuries. Levi was in charge of the lower half, careful not to jostle her obviously broken leg; the bone stuck out at an odd angle near her ankle, foot bruised and twisted, most likely under the pedals. The woman, who was obviously still full of adrenaline, didn’t seem to notice at the moment, which was a blessing. She’d introduced herself as Layla, a smile on her face, which was quickly dropped when the men started to treat her.

A good hour of realigning bone later, Levi handed the report to the doctor that went in after them, making his way over to the nearest sink to rescrub his hands. He still felt blood under his fingernails where the glove had torn on a piece of bone; it was always sharper than you thought, and Levi scowled, reprimanding himself for forgetting that. Erwin patted him on the shoulder, brushing past as he was called down the hallway to help someone else with a fracture.  
Levi dried his hands, struggled to put a new pair of gloves on said hands, and looked at the clock. Nine thirty p.m. had never looked so stupid to him before.

The charge nurse for the evening, Mike, popped his head around the corner with a frustrated noise. Levi noticed the paperwork in his hands made a face; it seemed the critical patient hadn’t made it after all. With a small grimace, Mike motioned to the far exam room and spoke in a hushed voice.

“Levi, I need to contact next of kin. Would you take care of Carla’s kid for me?” After a pause, Levi’s brows scrunched together. How many times had this guy been in the ER lately? Sighing under his breath, Levi nodded to Mike, heading into the room with concealed defeat.

Opening the door, Levi immediately noticed the different atmosphere; Carla herself was there, along with a young woman he recognized as the doctor’s daughter. She was quiet and polite, so it was no wonder he remembered her at all. Eren, who had been here far too much for Levi’s liking, gave a sheepish smile as best he could with his face contorted in pain. One look told Levi exactly what had happened: road rash, heavy bruising on one side, cut on the face at windshield height. Eren had been hit by a car.  
Carla stood and walked over to Levi, eyes drawn to the floor; it was obvious she felt responsible for her child being hurt, and Levi almost wanted to comfort her. The professional relationship made him drop his raised hand, and he listened to Carla explain that the crash started when a kid ran out into the road after his dog. The car swerved to miss the dog, and was about to hit the kid, when Eren grabbed the child and took the hit himself. Thankfully the car was already in the process of stopping, but the car behind them swerved into the other lane, causing the pileup.

“We were just going to get Mikasa’s books for school, and-“ Carla stopped herself, wiping away a stray tear and composing herself. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be so emotional. He’s fine, you’re here, you’ll help.”  
Levi pushed past his comfort zone, and laid a gentle hand on his superior’s shoulder. Then he walked over to Eren, where his sister Mikasa hadn’t left his side. Her jaw was clenched, but the young woman stepped away to let Levi work. After checking for any broken bones, which there were thankfully none, Levi stopped and stared Eren down. The brunette raised an eyebrow, obviously confused, and was about to speak, when the older man picked up his hand and smacked his wrist, almost like a reprimand.

“I don’t want to see you in here for at least a week. I get you’re an accident magnet, but stop worrying your mother so much.”  
Across the room, Carla laughed, and instantly the sour feeling in the room dissipated. Eren’s warm smile brightened it more, and even lightened the feeling in Levi’s chest. Raising his hand in a mock salute, Eren sat up straight, and laughed a little in his throat.

“Aye aye, captain.”

Time passed, many bad jokes were told, and even Mikasa smiled before the Yeager family left for the night. Eren once again waved at the door, but Levi found himself waving back, just a little. After that, he turned, scrubbed the room from top to bottom, washed his hands again, and went to lunch.


End file.
